1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a method for coding a picture, especially to a rate control by means of an MPEG.
2. Background of the Invention
The MPEG has been used as a method for coding a picture. Especially for an MPEG2 (Moving Picture Experts Group Phase 2) among the MPEG, a TM5 (Test Model 5) has been proposed as a model for standardization work (cf. ISO-IEC/JTC1/SC29/WG11, e.g. "Selected Book on Comprehensive Multimedia, MPEG", pp. 110-115, by Television Society, published by Ohmsha)
The TM5 suggests to optimize a picture in quality, with the number of bits generated by coding controlled to a desired number (i.e. target number of bits) in rate control.
However, in the rate control according to the TM5, a picture changes from the one requiring a small number of bits generated by coding to the one requiring a large number of bits generated by coding, for example, before and after fade-in. Handling those pictures in the same way causes deterioration in picture quality.